Weekend in Review Pt 1

So after the first week of classes, homework, studying, and tests, the Alliance felt it a good idea to allow the students some respite from our work so that we could explore some of the rich cultural characteristics of Shanghai. On Friday at 12:45 PM, We walked from our dorms at Tong He International Student Village to the nearest subway station. We got off around 30 minutes later, then walked around 4 blocks until we came to the first of 3 markets. This one was known as the Cricket Market, although several different types of animals are sold there. There are two types of crickets sold there: singing crickets and fighting crickets. Each singing cricket is placed in a woven box about the size of a large lemon, and the boxes are hung in a bunch buy the front of each shop. The noise from each bunch of crickets was deafening. Singing crickets are bought to be entered into contests, and the winner is decided buy a judge or judges who record the decibals of each cricket's "singing". Winners have been known to sing at levels of 101.1 decibals.

The other class of cricket is the fighting cricket, which are bred for their size, speed, and ferocity. These crickets are kept in individual cages made of bamboo or wood, and are sat firmly on a table. All fighting crickets are male, as it is part of their instincts to immediately attack and fight another male cricket to the death on sight. But to increase the crickets ferocity before a fight, the owners or handlers of each cricket prod them with sticks to get them angry, then let the two crickets loose on each other. We were told that a cricket fighting and gambling ring had been busted a few months ago, and over 8 million RMB (around $1.2 Million) was seized. Apparently cricket fights are perfectly legal, but gambling on them is not. Fighting crickets became popular during the Tang Dynasty (7th Century AD), and has been part of Chinese cultural tradition for around 1300 years.

The next market was the "Antique" Market. I say "Antique" because 99.9999% of the wares are none-authentic. But it was a great place to buy souvenirs, gifts, and practice another great, chinese cultural tradition: bargaining.

Just like with any place in the world, if you're a foreigner, people assume you're rich. So it's to be expected that a large group of young people with glasses, backpacks, and cameras will be targeted by every vender in the market. You can try bargaining in English, but it's not nearly as effective as doing it in the native language of the country you're in. Here's a conversation that I had with 2 venders, which became a great example for how to bargain in Shanghai:

(I pick up a fan from the venders stall and open it up)
(Vender 1 walks over)
Vender 1: 你喜欢吗？(Do you like it?)
Me: 我觉得这个很漂亮，可是我只看，不买。(I think it's nice, but I'm only looking, not buying)
(One of my classmates, Spike, walks over)
Spike: 这个多少块钱？（How much does this cost?)
Vender 1: 五十快 （50 RMB)
Me: 我没有那么快。谢谢您，师傅。（I don't have any money. Thank you, sir)
(I put the fan down, but he immediately picks it back up and starts offering me to hold it. At the same time, the vender from the next stall comes over)
Vender 2: 他告诉你买这个多少块钱？（How much did he say you could buy this for?)
Me: 没问题，我正在只看，不买。（It doesn't matter, I'm only looking, not buying.)
Vender 2: 多少块钱？（HOW MUCH!?)
Me: 好的好的，他说了五十快。（okay, okay. He said 50 RMB)
(Vender 2 grabs a fan from his own stall and opens it up, and pointing at his fan and Vender 2's fan)
Vender 2: 这个和那个是一样,  可是我买你这个三十快。（This fan and that fan are the same, but I'll sell this one to you for 30 RMB)
(Before I can answer, Vender 1 thrusts his fan into my hand)
Vender 1: 二十七快！（27 RMB)
Me: 我没有快。（I don't have money)
Vender 2: 二十五块！（25 RMB)
Me: 我就是大学生，我没有那么块。（I'm only a college student, I don't have ANY money)
Vender 1: 二十块！（20 RMB!)
Vener 2: 太便宜了！(Too cheap!)
(Vender 2 spits on the ground and walks back to his stall)
Me: 真的，我没有那么块。 （Really, I don't have any money.)
Vender 1: 十九快！（19 RMB)

Me: 真的，我没有那么块。 （Really, I don't have any money.)

Vender 1: 十八快！（18 RMB)

（This repeats 7 more times until Vender 1 finally throws up his hands and says)

Vender 1: 十块！(10 RMB)

(I (acting like) I'm thinking it over for about 10 seconds.)

Me:好的 （Okay)

(I reach for my wallet, pull out a 10 RMB bill, give it to vender, then walk down the alley and fan myself with my new purchase)

The final market was the Tea Market, which was a real treat. Basically it's a 3 story mall that sells nothing but tea and tea paraphernalia (pots, cups, traditional tea sets, etc). I went with a few of my classmates into this one shop where a woman in her early 60's sat behind her table with her tea set in front of her. We inquired into some of the teas that she sold at her shop. After a minute she invited us to sit down and try some of it. I can't remember what the tea was called, but I vividly remember thinking that it had to be best hot tea I had ever tasted (I am from Memphis, TN, so I'm still partial to my grandmother's homemade, sweet tea in the summer time.) She told us that smelling the tea before taking a sip enhances the taste and the effect of the tea on your entire mouth. So from now on, I take inhale the aroma of the hot tea I'm drinking, and try to appreciate all of the intricacies that go into the process. It really was a very enriching experience.

This post has run pretty long, so I'll write about my experience at the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum in the next post.